pootling

Matt Berniger meets Jesse Thorn, meets put this on, meets pocket squares. It’s like the perfect confluence of loads of my favourite things.

putthison:

Matt Berninger from The National was over today, and I noticed that his breast pocket was looking a little empty, so I gave him one of our PTO Gentlemen’s Association pocket squares. There are still a few left in our stock made from vintage 1960s Irish linen. Matt’s poof is a little elevated, but it looks pretty good for a first-timer.

Source: putthison

Awesome poster for The National, many more of which can be found here

Albums of the Year

Number 3: High Violet by The National

When this album came out in May, I felt like I’d been looking forward to it for ages. Not least because 2007’s Boxer quickly became one of my favourite albums of all time. Add that to the fact that the single released before the album came out, Bloodbuzz Ohio is one of the best songs they’ve released.

All this meant that there was a lot of pressure on this album to live up to my expectations. Even from the first listen I wasn’t disappointed. The album’s opener Terrible Love is an outstanding track that shows off Bryan Devendorf’s fantastic drumming and sets a standard the rest of the album more than lives up to. Sorrow shows that despite this being a brighter album than Boxer and less angry than Alligator it still contains The National’s trademark downbeat, yet somehow uplifting style. Afraid of Everyone is a beautiful track with Sufjan Stevens on backing vocals (vocals we were lucky enough to see him adding live a few months later).

I could go on explaining everything that I love about each track on this album, but I don’t think there’s any need. There’s no filler, no poor track on the whole album. From the outset to the closing paean to geekhood, Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks, this is a joy to listen to.

Is it as good as Boxer? As yet, I’m not sure if I can tell, but it could well be, and there’s not much higher praise I can give it than that.

Spotify Link